Blog Photographer

Photography doesn't have to be hard. Yes, it is an artform, No, you are not born being good at it. Like all things, photography takes lot of practice and education to get it down. People wonder how I can take such great photos and the truth is I spend hundreds of hours learning about light, gear and techniques and then I put these lessons into action until I create something that I like. It's an obsession really, or is that what they call passion? The truth is, the basics of photography are not that hard, and you too can take some great photos for your social media. The more effort and practice you put into it, the better your photos will continue to turn out, and if you have no desire to put that effort in, then you can outsource to people like me. I live for this stuff.

For those of you ready to put a little effort in and see what you can create. I've outlined a few basic starting points for creating a great flat lay for your social media. Of course, these are just ideas and thoughts that I have and that I use when creating my flat lays, but as with all art, there really are no rules. Create the things that fit with your brand and with your themes on Instagram. But maybe, start here and see where it takes you. First things, first, it's all about the light.

Photography Depends on Light

My number one secret to having the best photographs comes down to light. The greatest artists of our time, Monet, Van Gogh, Edward Hopper, Wes Anderson and Martin Scorses all figured out that the use of light tells the greatest story and has the most power. We see that light during the day is white, near sunset is orange and after sunset is blue. All of these colors evoke different emotions and bring us to a different place. While the study of light could take you your entire life to learn, as it has most artists, the basics of light are pretty easy to understand and will provide you with the tools you need to create great images.

For the most case, when you are taking photos for your business, social media or just for fun, you'll be taking them in the daylight. This is when you have the most light that's white and easy to work with. You'll want to find a space to photograph your flat lays that isn't in direct sunlight. Direct sunlight will cause harsh shadows and intense highlights. Unless this is an effect you are going for (which, for more intermediate photographers this could be the case) you should just avoid it. Take your flat lays next to a window or in the shade to get the indirect light that provides softer shadows. Like in the image above you'll want to have white pieces of poster-board or core-board on the surrounding sides of your subject to reflect light back. The reflecting white surface makes it so that the image is evenly lit and not slowly falling back into shadow and softens any shadows a little bit more.

Choose The Right Backdrop

Flat lays are meant to tell a story. The objects that are used should be the main focus and therefore the backdrop should be something simple and non-distracting. I've created my backdrops with core-board and vinyl prints of texture. Any print shop can create these for you with the exact textures or colors you want or you can find pre-printed vinyl online. Topo Designs, The Colorado bag company, has done an awesome job using solid bright colors as the backdrops for their flat lays.

You aren't limited to using pre-made backdrops. Using the wood floors of your home, the granite countertops in the kitchen, the turf in your backyard, the concrete sidewalk, the paved street, or anything else you can come up with are all great for backdrops. There is always the classic white background too. Whatever fits with the look and feel of your brand is what you should be thinking to use for your flat lays. When it comes to my brand and my Instagram theme, I have a much darker look. My colors are saturated, everything is sharp and the colors and editing are all darker. Using white backdrops doesn't fit the look and feel of my brand so I stick with industrial or natural textures. I love wood grains the most but have used this industrial steal texture a lot too.

Finding Objects For Your Flat Lay

There are no wrong or right objects when it comes to your flat lays. It really comes down to the stories you want to tell and the objects that make sense for your brand. In the flat lay I created for this blog post, I used a quote on the letter board I've been using in a lot of different photos. "It takes a village to raise a dream," it says, and then I surrounded it with the tools I've been using to create my dream of having a photography business.

There are a couple of things to consider when you are making your flat lay, but again there really is no wrong or right choices just personal preference. I try to choose 1 object that is the focus of the board. It's almost always the largest object on the board but often it can be the thing that stands out the most by color or texture. I then use other objects to frame it or that add to it.

The second thing to consider is how you want to lay out your images. The grid is a common preference where everything falls into line with each other. But a lot of flat lays have objects falling off the edges of the frame and are scattered throughout the image. Again, this really comes down to personal preference and how you want to showcase your objects and tell a story. You don't have to choose one or the other but can alternate between the two.

Flat lays are about practice. Finding the colors, objects, backgrounds and angles that work best for you and the story you're telling about your brand. My best advice is to play around and try different things to see what you like. You can also post different versions of things and see how your audience engages. This is your best way of finding the images that connect with your audience, who knows maybe the flat lay look isn't even the right one for you audience and lifestyle shots are what they prefer. You'll never know until you get out there and test the waters!

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As someone who loves stories, it is really amazing that I didn’t get into blogger photography sooner. Each session is telling a different story with a stage, a costume, and some guided posing. It’s a whole different kind of fashion photography and portrait work but I love the challenge. Every blogger has a different story to tell with a different style to their brand and I want to help each and every one of them shine.

Denver has a huge growing network of bloggers, it’s one of the reasons I started the Networking Shoot. I want to help bloggers grow their brands and speak to their audiences. Having great photography on their websites is the very first step. To start off I like to get to know a blogger and their reasoning for starting their blog. Knowing more of their story and who they are, helps me better match their story to their audience. I always look for locations that fit their brand and represent them while matching the outfit (you don’t want things to compete, but to compliment). And then, of course, my favorite part, we start shooting.

I let the blogger model start off with some of their usual poses and let us both get comfortable in our roles. The more I can see how they pose and how comfortable they are in front of the camera, the better feel I can get for where to take this shoot. I’ll give instructions for movements, poses or small corrections to make natural looking poses that don’t feel forced but make you feel like you’re right in front of them. Having approachable photos that resonate with the audience is what makes a great blog post.

Cara from Never Skip Brunch was looking to show off a new Fall look in an environment that was a little different from her usual city photos. We drove for over 45 minutes looking for the sunflower fields near DIA (Denver International Airport) and were a little disappointed to find that they were past their prime. However, a sunflower is a sunflower and we weren’t going to miss this opportunity.

Cara had one main outfit with a few accessory changes and a lot of spirit and laughs. Her personality stands out from the masses and she never leaves home without her signature lipstick. Needless to say, Cara knew what she was doing and was a pro at posing and making my job super easy. Every now and then I’d give her a new pose to try or tweak one to make sure she was showing off her best side in every shot.

One of my biggest goals when it comes to blogger photography is to make sure the full story and outfit are shared. I take wide shots that show the whole outfit together along with the background, giving you more of an idea of where she stood and what she was up to. This also sets the scene for where to wear an outfit like this or even tells you a little more about the blogger themselves. In the case of this shoot, the open road and open fields help showcase the season of Fall. They also give the sense of freedom and being a free spirit, which really connected with my idea of Cara. I then get in closer and closer showing individual pieces of the outfit all the way to the details of it (the accessories). I want the bloggers I work with to have enough material to really show off the look on their blog as well as have plenty of photos that stand out individually to share on social media.

My blogger photography is a new addition to Katie Leigh but I’m so excited to be working with bloggers and expanding the term “Lifestyle Brands”. If you’re a blogger looking to get some photography done for your blog feel free to reach out to me or check out what you get in a blogger shoot on my packages page (HERE). As with all my portrait shoots $10 from your shoot will be donated to charity as a way to help create a better story for others too.

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Into The Wild

“The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.” – Into The Wild